White Year
by Rokstar
Summary: Rukia, Kaien and Sode no Shirayuki. A one-shot.


A Kaien-Rukia one shot

Written by me and posted on the Kairuki FC on BA for New Year.

_**For Chefnem … :)** _

**Disclaimer: Bleach characters and environment belong to Tite Kubo.**

**White Year**

It was a second before she realised it was New Year's Day. Kuchiki Rukia sat up in her futon and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. She longed to go back to sleep, for the weather was cold as ever, and her futon felt cosily warm, inviting even. But she was an officer; it would not do for her to laze around, even if it was the first day of a brand new year.

Although still reluctant, she got out of the comfort of her futon and put it away. She felt a sudden chill now that she had lost its warmth. She hurriedly dressed and made herself presentable.

Rukia knew it wasn't the smartest thing to do, but she knew she had to try. Taking a deep breath, she stepped out into the lush gardens of the Kuchiki manor and found her adoptive brother, Kuchiki Byakuya, standing there, all dressed in his Shinigami uniform, ready to leave.

Rukia, hesitantly, stepped toward him. However, hesitant or not, he would have felt her reiatsu from a mile away. Hence, he turned and graced her with a half-glance. His expression remained as stoic as ever. Rukia always thought of ice when she met her brother eyes and he even gave off a cold aura which she could sense in his reiatsu.

Trying not to flinch, she gave him a deep bow.

"Happy New Year, Nii-Sama," she said, straightening up and meeting eyes with him.

It was impossible to predict his thoughts as he merely looked at her. Rukia seemed to be withering under his gaze but she didn't look away from him. Then, he gave her the tiniest of nods before walking away. And she watched him leave, feeling a heavy sense of disappointment. Was it so hard to wish her back?

Rukia had long since believed that life for her as a Kuchiki would not be easy. Not once did she feel at home in the Kuchiki House.

Sighing, she too left for her squad, the thirteenth division. It was still relatively early and most of the officers hadn't arrived yet. Probably hung over from celebrating all night, she thought, especially when she thought of Kiyone and Sentarou. They've never needed a reason to get drunk. Her Captain, Ukitake Jushiro, was still resting in his chambers. However, the one person she wanted to see was her lieutenant, Shiba Kaien. He too, had yet to arrive.

Still feeling dejected, she sat down on the steps of the barracks which had a beautiful view of the training grounds. She hadn't seen or wished anyone apart from her brother. She didn't have to, she was nobility after all.

_Who else do I know anyway? _

She could almost see the days ahead of her; the same monotonous, dreary life that she had gotten used to. Her life was a period of intervals between the Kuchiki mansion and the offices of the thirteenth squad. She was happiest, however, when she was with her squad.

Because here, she had –

"Oh, it's you, Kuchiki," said a gruff voice behind her. She turned and gazed up at the tall form of Shiba Kaien.

"You're very early," he stated, a frown on his face.

Rukia, who was already petite in frame, stood up hastily, for he towered over her, more so than usual in her seated position. She couldn't help but be flustered in his commanding presence. In order to cover up her nervous persona, she gave him a bow, just as she'd done for her brother.

"Happy New Year, Kaien-dono," she said.

She looked up to see that his frowned expression had become more pronounced than ever.

"Jeez Kuchiki," he said, as he rubbed the back of his neck, not looking at her. "I've never seen anyone say, "Happy New Year", with such a sad expression on their face."

Rukia felt even more flustered. And she didn't know how to respond to him. She hung her head, all of a sudden finding her feet very interesting. Kaien, on the other hand, knew exactly why she was dejected. She always looked sad in his opinion. But he wished she would be cheerful on this particular day.

She was Kuchiki Byakuya's adopted sister and Kaien knew that that man would truly never make her feel wanted, like family.

He decided to help with that.

"Kuchiki, go pack up some food," he said coming to a sudden decision.

Rukia looked at him, startled. "W-what? Kaien-dono – "

"Get ready to leave in five minutes," he said talking over her. He walked away, leaving Rukia standing with her mouth open, her last sentenced unfinished.

After collecting herself, she did as she was told. She packed up some food for the both of them and waited. And exactly five minutes later, they were _shunpo-ing_ out at great speed with Rukia trying her hardest to keep up with him.

"Where are we going?" she asked, yelling.

"Keep up, Kuchiki!" was the only answer she received.

Before she knew it, she had followed him out to Mt. Koifushi, in the northern end of the third district of Western Rukongai. She was surprised; it was where Kaien-dono had first trained her.

She loved this place, the air, the trees, its warmth … she felt a sense of nostalgia wash pleasantly over her. But why had Kaien-dono brought her here of all places? She decided to ask him and turned around.

The Lieutenant stood staring at her, his sword drawn, ready to strike.

"Draw your sword, Kuchiki," he said looking very serious and very alert.

Rukia was flabbergasted. He brought her here to train? And _today_ of all days?

But her Shinigami instincts kicked in and she drew her sword just in time to block an attack from him. She was pushed back by the sheer force of the impact. Stunned, she looked at him, wondering why he was doing this. What was he thinking?

But she could not ponder long, he swung at her again; and again and again.

Rukia could do nothing except block those attacks, which in itself was a huge effort. He was very strong and she was being pushed back by the weight of the attacks. She was struggling with herself, thinking about how best to get out of this situation. She could come up with nothing.

Suddenly, just as he started, he stopped.

His bluish-green eyes were narrowed in a calculating gaze. She was panting, heavily breathless. He could a barrage of questions boiling in her purple eyes but he wouldn't relent. She was strong and capable. All she lacked was self-confidence. But after their first ever training session, she had been showing tremendous improvement. If he could just push her the right way …

"I'm not done yet, Kuchiki," he said and swung out his sword in his most powerful attack yet.

He almost knocked her off her feet. Rukia felt like she was being driven into a corner and if she didn't do something to escape, she would suffer some serious injury. The attacks kept coming and she felt her strength draining with her every block. In a final swing, he knocked her flat on the ground.

As her head hit the hard earth, she saw stars … and heard a voice, a feminine voice. She heard it very clearly as though someone was whispering in her ear. It was a very soft voice and yet, Rukia could detect a wealth of power in it.

"_Call my name,"_ it said.

Disoriented, Rukia tried to listen. _"Call my name,"_ the voice repeated.

Rukia wanted to say, "I don't know your name," but voice contradicted her almost as though it had read her mind, _"You know my name!"_

It yelled as if willing her to remember a long forgotten name.

Suddenly, it came to her and she said, "_Sode no Shirayuki,"_ for the very first time in her life.

Kaien, who was watching her closely, was suddenly blinded by a brilliant white light. He shielded his eyes with his hand, eyes shut against the pale white light. When he felt safe to open them, his eyes fell upon his subordinate sitting up on the ground, clutching a sword that was as white as the light.

Kuchiki Rukia's zanpakuto …

Rukia looked at the white sword in her hand, stunned, amazed, and speechless. It was the most beautiful sword she had ever seen in her life. It was fully white, the hilt, the guard, and even the blade. She didn't have to guess what its power was; she knew.

_Sode no Shirayuki … snow …_

_Pure white ice … _

Kaien smiled. "What's her name?" He privately thought that the katana in its released form was the most beautiful in all of Soul Society.

"What is her name?" he asked, giving her a helping hand up.

"Sode no Shirayuki," she said, her eyes still on her zanpakuto. Her voice still registered awe.

"Snow …" he remarked. "Ice …"

Rukia nodded for she had the same thoughts as him.

Kaien smiled. He got what he wanted. Rukia was – happy. No words were required.

The look on her face said it all.

* * *

><p>It was a long time later that Rukia and Kaien left Mt Koifushi. Rukia had been sparring with her Lieutenant and his zanpakuto, Nejibana. She had not learned about its powers yet but it was exciting to feel the raw power of her zanpakuto pulsating between her fingers. They finished the lunch that Rukia had packed for both of them and called it a day.<p>

Later, Lieutenant and subordinate stayed behind in the Rukongai to watch the fireworks festival at the end of the day. Rukia could not believe she had spent New Year's Day with Kaien-dono. They had even walked around the Rukongai, enjoying the sights and sounds of the celebrations going on.

"Kaien-dono …" she said, as he bought soba buns off a vendor in the street.

"Hmmm?" he asked as he counted out the money and handed it to the vendor.

"Shouldn't we be heading back to the squad? It's getting late," she said. Although she wanted to spend time with him, it was still not right. She knew that he should be celebrating with his family, especially Miyako-dono.

"Don't worry about it," he said offering her a small smile. "Miyako is busy with work and we still have plenty of time left. We'll leave as soon as the fireworks festival is over, okay?"

"Hai!" she said smiling happily.

Finally, they sat on the roof of a building.

The sun was just setting over the horizon and the sky was painted a reddish-pink colour. A warm breeze ruffled her hair gently as it passed by. They munched on the soba buns, waiting.

And just like that, there was the distant whistle of fireworks being launched into the air. They soared into the sky and burst out in sparks of red, green and yellow.

Rukia's hand lay on her zanpakuto which had been released for the very first time today and she felt like she'd gained a friend for life. She looked at the man sitting beside her, with his dark hair and cerulean eyes, and her heart swelled with contentment. She had never felt such happiness. It was the greatest day of her life.

And it was all thanks to him … _Kaien-dono …_

Once again, she felt that warmth which she always felt from him. It was warmth she associated with sunlight and it went straight to her heart.

"Happy New Year," she said a genuine smile on her lips, "Kaien-dono …"

Undoubtedly, it was going to be a good year ahead.

He smiled.

**Hope you liked it.**

**Happy New Year Everyone!**


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